#plans go awry

[aca-panic]

"That was a disaster"

That has been calmly popping up in my brain the whole way home today. Let me give you context. I arrived on campus early today and chilled in the car, continuing to listen to my audiobook, before heading in to get things set up for class. Two of my three students are already there. Yay! I unlock the classroom door and see the desks still set up from yesterday. Yay! I start to unpack my bag and…

[blind-alchemists]

the thing with Solas is that he's proud, and wise, and clever, and cunning, and regretful, and guilty, and honest when it'd be so much easier to lie, but while canon tells (and shows) us all of that, it doesn't tell us that the other deep-seated emotion that drives him is shame.

shame about what he did, shame about what he's going to do; shame about what he was, shame about what he is; shame about killing his friend; shame about viewing the people of the current Age as shadows; shame about not knowing better; shame about not wanting to know better; shame about a befriended/romanced Inquisitor, shame about the friends he made; shame about hiding in plain sight, shame about not telling the truth; shame about making the same mistake twice, knowing how it'll turn out; shame about his outbursts, shame about not being good enough; shame about feeling attached to the current Thedas, shame about not feeling attached enough to stop; shame about not having anything to be proud of anymore.

I was recently struggling with a scene that didn't go the way I thought it would, until I realized that neither pride nor guilt nor regret nor wariness was the the real motivation; they were just the result, the display, the cover: the real motivation was the shame.

and then everything kind of clicked into place, precisely because pride is such a focal point of Solas' character - if shame is a deep-seated emotion, it contradicts his pride, his wisdom, his intellect; if shame is a deep-seated emotion, it fuels his regret, his guilt, his determination; if shame is a deep-seated emotion, it's the one thing he's actually managed to conceal. (then again, I wonder if he's even aware that what he's feeling is shame.)

and, as I kept thinking about it, it kept making sense: to be ashamed is a grave sentence for someone like Solas, who's entire character revolves around his pride and his wisdom and his regret. he regrets enough of his mistakes to be disappointed, unsatisfied with himself, to be uncomfortable with what he's done; he's wise enough to know that he has no logical reason to feel ashamed for half of these things and yet even more reasons to feel ashamed for the other half; he's proud enough to loathe admitting to this shame. he gets wary if you poke at him, defensive if you manage to get to close to this sore spot, upset if you keep at it. his pride won't allow him to admit to his shame, and his wisdom won't allow him to not admit to it, and his shame won't allow him to speak about it, and that keeps him stuck in this vicious cycle.

[howifeltabouthim]

'Damn it, we had a plan.' 'Which worked beautifully right up until the point where it didn't . . . Such is the way of plans.'

Jenn Lyons, from The Ruin of Kings

[good-beanswrites]

Fuuta x Kotoko?

Waah I hope the fact that this ran a little long makes up for the lateness -- I really love the idea and was so excited to get the request!! They'd be so interesting and affect each other so much...... it makes me crazy...... It becomes canon divergent at the end because I genuinely think being in each others' company more would influence them both

Kotoko was nothing if not observant. Over the years, she’d found herself in – and gotten herself out of – enough situations to get a good read on the people she interacted with. No matter what this world threw her way, she could always rely on those abilities. And from the moment she met Milgram’s third prisoner, those abilities told her he was nothing but trouble. 

“Oi,” he’d called across the dining table during the first meal they all had shared. “What did you do to get here?”

From the moment she woke up in this strange place, Kotoko had kept to herself. It’s dangerous to charge forward and introduce oneself to a group of mysterious murderers when there are no locks on the doors. She hadn’t spoken a word to anyone, the others smart enough to heed her intense look and stay away. 

Fuuta, on the other hand, was the first to speak directly to her. He stared impatiently.

“Well?”

She noted his directness. His volume. The brashness and vulgarity she’d heard earlier in the day. His motivations and values he’d let slip in his early defenses. His anger and his fear. The suspicion in his gaze, as well as the need for reassurance in his voice. In that moment, the information clicked together in her mind, and Kotoko realized two things:

Kajiyama Fuuta was a lot like her, in the obvious ways.

Kajiyama Fuuta was nothing like her, in the ways that really mattered.

“The same reason as everyone else, I suppose,” she said carefully. He may have revealed his whole hand, but from experience she knew better than to do the same.

A lot of her experiences returned to her as the trial went on. She went through the motions of coaxing secrets out of quiet men, or playing along with cheery girls’ games to uncover what she was looking for. She remembered how it felt on stakeouts as she kept her eye on the warden’s door, and recalled the thrill of negotiation when she had a moment alone with them. And unfortunately, she recognized the immediate sensation of being tailed. She was used to shaking an unwanted follower out on the streets, but it was difficult to do the same when the only places to go consisted of three rooms and a corridor. 

No matter how inconspicuous Fuuta thought he was being, Kotoko got a glimpse of that bright hair retreating around corners just behind her. She could feel his eyes boring into her back, always conveniently whipping away by the time she turned to look. The only thing that seemed to affect his permanently blaring volume was when she was speaking nearby – unlike a real stalker who would tactfully pretend not to be listening in, Fuuta would use the opportunity to jump into all her conversations.

Kotoko was in the middle of her morning stretches when she became aware of his presence lurking around the doorway. After several weeks of the behavior, she’d had quite enough. Kotoko knew that if you can’t shake a tail, there’s only one other option. 

She stepped out of her cell, swiftly reaching for Fuuta’s collar. With a handful of his uniform, she shoved him back against the cell bars. For someone that had creeped on all her daily exercise routines, he seemed awfully shocked at how strong she was.

“Stop following me.” She kept her voice low and even. “I don’t know what you want from me, nor do I care. I will –”

“I don’t want anything from you!” 

He raised his voice in an attempt to sound tough, but only succeeded in coming off desperate. He tried to weasel out of her grasp to no avail. She’d had practice intimidating guys three times her height – it was almost too easy now that she had an inch or so on Fuuta. 

“Don’t give me that oblivious crap. Every day. Every single day, you –”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about! You’re the one who acting fucking crazy!”

Even after knowing it was in vain, he kept squirming under her harsh look. His eyes flicked frantically around the room, only able to take in her stone cold expression for a brief moment at a time. He kept shouting his own defenses, his cheeks growing more red by the second.

This time, the information gathered took a bit longer to fall into place. One of her conclusions was something Kotoko was very used to. The other was something she’d never quite experienced before. For the first time in long career of poker faces, she visibly started upon realizing two things:

Kajiyama Fuuta was downright terrified of her.

Kajiyama Fuuta was hopelessly attracted to her.

She hurriedly released him, jerking herself away. “Just… stay out of my way.”  

“I was never in your way!” He shouted after her, his voice still shaking.

She should have stuck to her own demand and kept her distance; she was already aware of how much trouble this prisoner was capable of. But she took pride in her abilities to gather information of interest. And god, was Fuuta interesting. 

Between his constantly running mouth and his never running filter, he was always keeping her on her toes. She’d never met anyone who pressed her for answers like that – Fuuta was never satisfied with the explanations that could placate everyone else. He was always questioning, always pushing back. Though his talk could be as shallow as the older prisoners' melancholy musings, or the children’s gossipy chatter, it was different when he and Kotoko really went at it in a debate.

Fuuta talked shamelessly about society, about the other prisoners, and about her. The others kept their distance from someone as quietly calculating as her, but Fuuta would pour out his thoughts right to her face. He had her back when she was trying to prove a point to the others, but was too stubborn to compromise on any of own opinions when they conflicted. It was refreshing. 

And that was all it was, she would remind herself. The man would be insufferable if he was ever under the impression that she so much as tolerated his company. For everyone’s sake, he should remain completely unaware.

Awareness, however, was the very thing Kotoko prided herself in. She picked up on exactly what the warden was trying to communicate by granting her innocence. She was aware of the opportunities that arose with their disappearance. She noted the best time to fulfill her duties to them. She knew the optimal order to attack each prisoner in, to guarantee success.

It was due to her beloved observation skills that she found herself in cell 003 in the middle of the night. It didn’t matter how many training sessions Fuuta had spectated, or how many she’d invited him to join – he wasn’t as perceptive as she. He couldn’t predict or counter a single one of her movements. It only took a few moments for her to have him pinned on the ground.

“Y-you were serious?” Fuuta managed, even as her weight made it difficult for him to breathe. 

She’d confided in him about her deal with the warden, one late night long before verdicts were announced. She didn’t know what had driven her to do it. It had been a rare lapse in her judgment. The current situation only confirmed why she should never reveal more information than necessary. Why she should get closer to someone than necessary. 

“I am always serious.”

“Kotoko…”

She knew all of Fuuta’s typical arguments and excuses, and she had a rebuttal for each. She wound her arm back, her brass knuckles reflecting in the dim panopticon light. 

“...J-just… do it fast.”

Kotoko’s arm wavered. 

“What?”

“I’m not a fucking idiot. Even before that brat called you innocent, I knew that y-you were the one in the right. I used to think that you and I were the same, but I know that was all a lie. You were always the real hero. M-more than anyone else in this shithole. So…” Fuuta closed his eyes, squeezing tears from them. “Make it quicker than you did for that asshole, will ya?” 

Kotoko gripped her fight tighter. It was trembling. 

Fuuta’s eyes remained shut in fear. In trust. His breathing was erratic as he pretended not to be crying or struggling from the pressure on his lungs. He grit his teeth, preparing himself for what was to come. Kotoko prepared herself as well. 

Releasing a cry, she swung forward. The moment before her brass knuckles clashed with the floor, just to the left of Fuuta’s face, Kotoko realized one thing:

Kajiyama Fuuta was indeed nothing but trouble.

[inthedeepeclipse]

On Ibara, Hiyori and the Buisness world of Enstars

Smth smth hiyoiba is a push and pull relationship of who will drop their guard down first. Hiyori is usually first to do so, because of the way Ibara grew up he won’t drop it unless its a completely private space.

I would say that Ibara knows that Hiyori puts up an act. I’m pretty sure its canon that Hiyori was communicating with Eden during Getto Spectacle, and especially towards Eden and upper management. They’re aware of it, but its hard to be vulnerable with these two.

They trust each other. They’re aware of the power they do hold. (Though I’m not sure if the child soldier thing was told to Hiyori in canon) At least in the business world, I’m guessing. Hiyori still has connections, and Ibara has the power to turn his creative ideas into reality.

I really do want an exploration of the buisness side of Enstars. We do have canon corporations, but technically its a competitive monopoly. Eden climax has already brought us a set up, and bringing us to an understanding of how being an idolized person in a competitive market makes you lose yourself and greed talking to make those actions take place.

Their first interactions are about Hiyori’s judge of character and the inner workings of CosPro. (Saga Release 6) Because that is what they know about each other at that moment.

ES is operated mostly by Tenshouin related companies, making their name more widespread. Hiyori comments about this in his Idol Story 2. This is making (his family’s) the Tomoe Foundation’s name lessen. HappyEle, please tell me where the Tomoe’s put their money in. Because its definitely not the entertainment industry.

Anyway, by Hiyori’s actions I suspect that the rest of the Tomoe’s are overworkers~! ⭐️ So while his parent’s respect his decision of going to the entertainment industry, they probably dont understand why he got there in the first place~! ⭐️ That’s why Hiyori is so against Ibara working so much~! ⭐️

[dangerousstrawberrypie]

Here in the year of our Cat 2023, this scene is still one of the best things to come out of cartoon cinema. I will never be over someone calling Soundwave an uncharismatic boor.

[5hrignold]

in an attempt to understand thomas flyswatter better gerbo comes up to him one day and is like hey do you wanna be MY enemy and thomas just laughs at him and says no because he just sees him as bugbo’s dumb sidekick or whatever but this kind of actually gets gerbo pissed off and through that they really do become rivals. their dynamic is the opposite of what you’d expect it to be gerbo is 90% of the time the one who does evil things towards thomas meanwhile hes just happy that someone finally remembers him and keeps an ongoing contempt for him even if it’s not THE bugbo. they keep it a secret from him which leads to all their interactions in front of him being just gerbo pretending to not know who he is despite being annoyed and thomas pretending to be angry at him

[existennialmemes]

Reality better stop fucking with my

Best Laid Plans

for I am neither Mouse nor Man

[daisywords]

.

[obstinaterixatrix]

falling to my knees. and I went out to buy packaging materials today too which is right next to the grocery store… if I had known I would’ve picked up flour too……….

[somethingusefulfromflorida]

I've been informed that early April in Ohio is basically still winter and very likely to be clouded over, so I'm gonna have to rethink my plans for the eclipse.

From where I'm at in Florida it is the exact same distance to my original destination in Wapakoneta, Ohio as it is to Dallas, Texas, 1300 miles on the dot. That said, there's no guarantee that the south will be any clearer than the north, we're 8½ out, any weather predictions are impossible, but I need to pick something. I can't just wait until April and wing it, I need to decide now where I'm going because I need to book hotel rooms for the journey out, the day of, and the journey back, not to mention all the stops I would make along the way. I wanted to hit up as many amusement parks as possible, but most places up north are closed for winter. The eclipse is right around opening day for a lot of them, so they're guaranteed to be packed with tourists. My college roommates drove up to the Carolinas to view the 2017 eclipse and what would have normally been a 6 or 7 hour drive took them over 12, so I know for a fact that every road leading in and out of the path of totality is going to be crammed with bumper to bumper traffic as far as the eye can see.

My gut tells me to avoid cities like Dallas, Little Rock, Indianapolis, and Cleveland because they'll be the most congested, but I can't be the only person thinking ahead like this, so the rural areas inbetween are just as likely to be packed. There really are no safe spots along the path, everywhere is going to be crowded, so that's yet another uncertainty I need to decide on. Oh, and it's right in the middle of the presidential election, just a few weeks after Super Tuesday, so there will be nazis all up and down the eclipse path proudly flying their colors and making themselves everyone else's problem. I'm gonna feel uncomfortable and unwelcome no matter where I go.

There are no really desirable options...

[awordbroken]

*giggling and twirling hair* and then what?

[dyrewrites]

"There is going to be an angry sexy scene here, to show how manipulative this guy is and why our idiot keeps falling for him."

"Okay, sure, but how about instead of that he's so comfortable from helping him on a case for the last two days, and getting rare snuggly time he wants, that the guy says something he didn't mean to. And all the bad stuff he did is dragged out by the idiot in a rare moment of actually being a detective and they fight and the guy ends up cuffed to a boat railing. There's some more about the issues of his heat and bite being addictive too."

"Yes. I like that better. Let's do that."

[admirableadmiranda]

An important thing to remember in MDZS fanfic is that Wangxian can and will override the planned plot at any given time they see fit.

You are only the sculptor for their story. Wangxian will do as Wangxian please.

[voiice-of-the-soul]

The thing that bugs me about tfp starscream is that sure, some of his mistakes were definitely him panicking but some of them really seemed like they wanted him to forward the plot

I also hate how the show made it seem like he didn't stand much chance in a fight against other decepticons who were his inferior. HES SECOND IN COMMAND for heavens sake why do they keep having Starscream be overpowered by everyone. The moments we get of Starscream being smart and cunning and kicking ass are so good. Make him scary. He's the second in command bls. Woulda loved to see him kickass more not just with the Decepticons but over the autobots as well. Show us why Megatron would make Starscream his second in command.

[cto10121]